Soft board repair-was it a shark?

[OlegLupusov]

I have two questions:
1) how could I fix the damage in picture (should I?) it is 9 doyle soft board (more than usd 500)
2) whAt was that? I don't remember any collision and saw a "dolphin" in a distance.

Many thanks for your consideration.

[BaNZ]

Either I'm pretty ignorant or you got ripped off. $500 USD for a softboard?

That looks like a scary bite. I hope it wasn't a shark...

[OlegLupusov]

9 footers are all quite expensive. Probably, I could have bought something for 300-400 but of inferior quality and/or looks

[OlegLupusov]

Could the leash have cut this piece? It happened in at sand beach, no rocks at all. And no collision for sure

[jaffa1949]

I think you would have noticed a shark chomping there on your board!
It is about where your foot would have been.
Don't know about the repair, foamies with that amount of damage are usually dead in the water. I'm grateful you're not!

[waikikikichan]

That is damage from your leash. There's no "rail saver". It's the wide webbing part that sorta does what a padded strap on a heavy bag/case does for your shoulders. By just having the thin urethane come in contact with the board, it acted like a rope saw.

I suspect you jumped over the wave as the wave closed out. The board spin with the lip to the beach as you and the leash fling the opposite way. Learn to pull out with your board.

Question. Why didn't you mount the leash to the plug/leash rope at the back ? If it was back there, the leash could've rolled off the back and not get trapped by the center fin.

[OlegLupusov]

The original leash broke and I managed to get only that one for free so that to paddle out the next day. And this temporary solution turned out to be permanent.
I would agree it was a leash. this is the most probable cause. However, this construction survived months of regular surfing.

As for the repair, can I handle it with session saver? Or other repair kit! I fixed the hole made by another board quite decently with the help of session saver (it is still visible in the picture).

[drowningbitbybit]

It was a shark. Definitely.

Okay, it probably wasn't, but that's not what I would be telling my mates

[Surf Hound]

It seems like you are surfing somewhat regularly. Why not stop throwing good money on a temporary solution and put the cash towards a long term surf board? The only shark that could have bit that board would have had to been 100 years old and all out of teeth thus gummed it to death. lol. It's not a shark bit but it's time to get a another board. FYI I think you can buy a wave storm at Costco for $99 and they have lifetime warranties on them. However - that's not my advice, my advice is to buy a another board.

[jaffa1949]

Rubber ducky you're the one
you chew soft boards just for fun.
you make surf time lots of fun
rubber ducky you love to chew
and bite on my doyle until its thru
Rubber ducky I'm awfully fond of you!!!

( sung to music from Sesame Street)

Good tip spend the money, get a new board a non soft one! And secure your leash properly

[waikikikichan]

How many session saver sticks you gonna use to fill that gap ? Just find a old bodyboard or pool floaty noodle and cut it to fit. Use a hot glue gun and silicon sealant.

[OlegLupusov]

I have broken two boards this month. But I dunno what board I should get. Wavestorm with warrantee sounds fine. I live near the ocean right now but may leave the country anytime. Can't afford to buy a fancy hard board and then resell it in a hurry for peanuts.

I don't believe in glue guns! Tried to fix some peeling and minor dings. The repair survived only a couple of sessions. Save session turned out to be more durable. I think two-three stickers should be enough to seal the damage. I don't think that the restoration of the original form is necessary. Just to prevent major absorption.

Have u ever transplanted big parts from other boards?

[waikikikichan]

Have u ever transplanted big parts from other boards?

Yes.

[dtc]

. I don't think that the restoration of the original form is necessary. Just to prevent major absorption. ?

Having a big gap in the rails (edges) like that will definitely be noticeable and will mess up the handling of the board. The water is meant to run smoothly along the rails, and to have that gap just creates turbulence and drag and all sorts of things. The rails are sort of like a plane wing - there is a reason wings don't have big chunks taken out of them.

If you are riding an unbroken wave (ie not white water) then Im pretty sure it will be quite noticeable. However, it may or may not be a problem - I suspect it will be, but I've never tried so who knows.

I agree with waikikichan that you are better off trying to cut some foam and glue it into the gap. You wont be stepping on that part of the board so it shouldn't need to be ultra strong, just strong enough to stay put and give you a smooth rail.

A good quality foam board is a reasonable board to surf. They are heavy and a bit barge like, but not terrible. But they aren't as good as a reasonable 'hard' board. Still, if you don't think you will be around the coast for too long, the wavestorm is probably a perfect choice

[HurdyGurdyManOnAWave]

plenty of good used hard boards out there. get one! see if you can find a good one for cheap.

[OlegLupusov]

Hey! Sealed the board with session saver! It does not look perfect but surfs fine. Or I am too much a kook to notice the difference. Adjusted the sweet point! Other than that has three surfing sessions and pushed a complete novice in the whitewater. As I coach other people from time to time. I still need a soft one.
I want a hard one but the matters of my concern are 1)learning curve (how long the transition/ adjustment takes from soft to hard of more or less the same size); 2) price and probable lemon on Craigslist and necessity to buy a soft one to teach other people

[OlegLupusov]

Here it is

[Jester]

You have got to be joking! And..you teach people to surf too did you say? I can't fault your Stoke though. If you can make that thing work for you and your clients, wow.. Just, Wow!!

Hang on though, please tell us you reattched the leash properly after all that LOL

[OlegLupusov]

Not really teaching! Just pushing my gf in white water on regular basis and other friends on rare occasions.
I may do down the line several times during the session. No big difference in comparison with pre-damage condition. But the repair definitely helped with water absorption.

[OlegLupusov]

I found a long board 9*22,5*3 made by active surf boards.
Is it a good one? Is struggling to find any reviews on the Internet